Rufus Reid
Released February 11, 2014
Grammy Nominee for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album 2015
YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs13ZbrjXw0&list=OLAK5uy_l4mcfqpnRm64xauKBPJbvjhy-NbfJ1TM0
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2EGtbgPaV74dMAV4vi7g6C?si=b3b6-nkNTP6KGMqzb2hpRg
About:
A twenty-piece large ensemble, jazz-meets-classical masterwork composed, arranged and conducted by jazz legend Rufus Reid. This five-movement suite honors five iconic sculptures by Elizabeth Catlett, a revered multi-media artist, human rights activist, and African-American heroine of the highest order, whose work is featured in museums and public places around the country. Reid explains, “My purpose in recording Quiet Pride – The Elizabeth Catlett Project was to create a definitive, professional recording, for people who love art and who love music, explains Rufus. It will also be an excellent educational tool as I continue my residencies and performances at colleges and universities internationally. Quiet Pride has enriched my life about what I do and why I do it.”
Track Listing:
1. Prelude to Recognition (Rufus Reid) 1:49
2. Recognition (Rufus Reid) 7:49
(Grammy Nominee for Best Instrumental Composition)
3. Mother and Child (Rufus Reid) 13:03
4. Tapestry in the Sky (Rufus Reid) 15:56
5. Singing Head (Rufus Reid) 8:36
6. Glory (Rufus Reid) 12:09
Personnel:
Rufus Reid: bass
Steve Allee: piano
Herlin RIley: drums
Vic Juris: guitar
Dennis Mackrel: conductor
Tanya Darby: trumpet
Tim Hagans: trumpet
Ingrid Jensen: trumpet
Freddie Hendrix: trumpet
Michael Dease: trombone
Jason Jackson: trombone
Ryan Keberle: trombone
Dave Taylor: trombone
John Clark: French horn
Vincent Chancey: French horn
Steve Wilson: alto saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute, clarinet
Erica Von Kleist: alto saxophone, flute, clarinet
Scott Robinson: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Tom Christensen: tenor saxophone, clarinet
Carl Maraghi: baritone saxophone, bass clarinet
Charenee Wade: vocals
Recorded September 5 – 6, 2012, at Avatar Studios, New York, NY
Produced by Akira Tana and Rufus Reid
Mastering: Michael MacDonald
Mixing: Brian Montgomery
Photography: Manu Sassoonian
Review:
The beauty of art is often in the taking rather than the making. The art may come to life in the mind of the artist but it often flourishes when the ink dries, the chisel is withdrawn, the dust has settled, or the final brushstrokes have been applied. At that point, the preparation ends and the consumption begins. Creation then begins to fuel creation and a closed inspiration loop is born. This project is the perfect representation of that ideal.
Bassist Rufus Reid’s most ambitious project to date was born out of his love for the sculptures of Elizabeth Catlett, a talented African American artist and civil rights activist. Catlett’s work triggered something deep within Reid’s being so he yearned to capture or reflect the meaning of her sculptures through music.
The four-movement suite that he came up with, delivered by an augmented big band, won the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Composition Competition Prize and was premiered in 2006; later on, Reid added a fifth movement—”Tapestry In The Sky.” Since completion, the expanded version of the suite has been performed as part of a multi-media presentation at several colleges, with Catlett’s work and the documentary Betty And Pancho, which focuses on the life of Catlett and her husband, being shown in tandem.
The suite itself, when taken as a whole, is a study of contrasts. Refined and noble thoughts, earthy episodes, weighty-and-ominous suggestions, and graceful notions all take hold at one time or another. Plenty of high-powered players get to step into the spotlight, but the real magic has less to do with the individual personalities than with the way Reid stitches this music together. Sure, much can be said about the stinging guitar work of Vic Juris, the mutable and mesmerizing vocals of Charenee Wade, the beyond-category trumpet work of Ingrid Jensen, and the contributions of numerous others, but better to focus on the work itself. In this music, chamber-esque civility can give way to a feeling of uncertainty which, in turn, can morph into swing. Focus shifts from the textural to the rhythmic, the background to the foreground, and the subtle to the obvious. The music is mutable and multifaceted but that’s not really surprising; sculptures can take on different meaning when viewed from different angles so the music should certainly do the same.
Quiet Pride speaks with dignity, class, curiosity, and ingenuity. It stands tall and speaks volumes about the passion that art can bring to art.
Dan Bilawsky (All About Jazz)
